Brain Coach Tips

Visual challenges can be varied and sometimes hard to detect, but often mom or dad know something isn’t quite right. The challenge is to figure out what is causing the problem.  The doctor might say, “The child’s vision is fine.”  The question from a neurodevelopmentalist standpoint is, would the doctor be talking about 20/20 acuity (able to see up close and far away) or vision (the way the visual information is interrupted by the brain in giving the visual message)?

See if you recognize any of these symptoms of visual inefficiencies:

Discover more about The NeuroDevelopmental Profile as it relates to vision and visual distortions in this Brain Coach Tip episode.  There are seven main developmental levels that all children should go through.  Some of these areas of development are compromised by our cultural practices of putting our infants in gadgets such as walkers, swings and jump-ups. When we don’t go through the correct stages where vision is developed, challenges can occur.  The good news is that we don’t have to focus on the symptoms that can be on the checklists for labels such as Autism, ADD/ADHD or Sensory Integration Disorder.  We can find the root cause of the symptoms and change the child’s function, thus eliminating the symptoms all together.  

Don’t miss the handout attached here with links to pertinent information and discounts.

Click Here to View the Handout for this show.

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Do you ever want to just yell, “IT’S JUST A SOCK, put it on your foot!”? It is hard to understand the reaction of some children when their tactile system is giving the wrong messages to the brain. The sensory system is the gateway to overall function. You first have to get the correct input from the sensory system to be able to use that information in life. When it is not functioning correctly, it sends messages to the brain that are interrupted as pain.

This is often labeled Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and the symptoms can also be found in the labels of Autism, ADD and ADHD. These sensory messages shouldn’t be painful. However, if the system is not functioning correctly or is functioning in a hyper sensitive manner, they register as pain to that individual. If on the other hand, the messages are hypo (not enough), then the individual doesn’t have awareness of the signals from the environment and, therefore, doesn’t feel what they should.

-struggle with proper pencil grasp

-be uncomfortable in socks or clothes

-hate mushy food

-get bruises but have no idea where they came from

-jerk away from your gentle touch

-forget to wipe his face after eating

-hate haircuts and brushing hair

-have trouble opening jars or tying shoes

-get in other people’s social space

All of these are symptoms of a tactile system that has immature pathways. This means the messages to the brain are getting corrupted, making the individual feel too much or too little. No one has to live with these often debilitating effects of a sensory system that is misfiring. The NeuroDevelopmental Approach promoted by Little Giant Steps can teach you how to make these sensory pathways mature and functional. You can gain more information about this approach in the other podcasts listed here or visit http://www.LittleGiantSteps.com/our-services or http://www.LittleGiantSteps.com/learn-more for ways to get help for your child.

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Stop Overreacting! It’s Not That Loud!

Have you ever been really frustrated with your child’s reaction to sound?  Have you been troubled by his ability to understand what you are saying?  Has it crossed your mind that you might need to get her hearing checked?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this podcast is for you.

There really is a reason why children do the things they do.  They are all looking to meet a need. In the case of the previous questions, it is a need to protect themselves from the overstimulation to the auditory sensory system.  Covering ears, displaying fears and phobias, having trouble sleeping and many other strange behaviors could be reactions to hypersensitivity to sound.  One’s sensory system can tolerate a certain amount of stimulation and then it becomes painful.  Yes, I said painful.

Real pain is experienced when the sensory system is on overload.  In this episode, Jan Bedell, Little Giant Steps’ Brain Coach, will discuss with guest Ruth Young the challenges experienced when the brain hears too much.  They will also discuss tonal processing issues. These issues often manifest themselves in situations like when children think you said one thing, but you really said something different.  Imagine how hard it is to navigate through a world that at times sounds like a foreign language.

Strategies will be discussed to reduce or eliminate the sensory overload and distortions often found in children diagnosed with Autism or Sensory Integration Disorder.  In the coming weeks, Jan will also bring to the podcast solutions for sensory issues like hypersensitivity to touch and visual hypersensitivity.

Handout:

#20_StopOverreactingItsNotThatLoud_handout

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Neuroplasticity, hmm? Do we really have to use such an unfamiliar word?  Yes, to describe the amazing gift that God has given us we can start with a big word and break it down.  It really is quite simple – “neuro” is having to do with the brain and “plasticity” is the ability to change.  Our brains are changing all the time. This is really good news when you have a struggling learner or a child with a label like dyslexia, ADD, ADHD or autism.  The key is knowing how to fuel the brain with the right kind of stimulation so it builds new pathways.  From these new pathways, the brain can receive, organize, process and store information well enough to bring it out and use it in everyday life.  With the right kind of stimulation, your brain can take little developmental steps to achieve giant strides in academics and overall function.  That is what happens when you use the products and services of Little Giant Steps.

In this episode, you will hear the experience of a teacher that had taught first grade for 17 years before using The NeuroDevelopmental Approach in her classroom in year 18.  It made a huge difference for her students and can make a difference for you and your family as well.  Applying just a little information can make all the difference in your child’s future.  We shouldn’t leave out the adults either!  It is never too late to change the brain.  Two ladies in their 50’s, one a reading tutor and the other a Montessori teacher who had always struggled with reading comprehension, raised their reading comprehension score by 3 ½ years in only four months’ time.   And guess what? They didn’t do any specific reading program.  All it took was organization and specific stimulation to the brain and their abilities radically changed.

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Be sure to download the handout below

As homeschoolers we tend to teach the way we were taught or at the very least we are influenced by how we experienced school ourselves.  In this episode, Jan Bedell, the Little Giant Steps Brain Coach, challenges the standard way of doing a few problems to teach a “math lesson” and then sending the student off to “do it on their own”.  Then we grade the papers the child finished and then what?  Do we do more instruction?  Typically not, we just send the paper back with the child and tell them to correct it.  No wonder so many children HATE math.  The myth: If we help the student or do some of the student’s problems for them, it makes us somehow guilty of cheating.   That myth is debunked in this episode.

Also, what about those magic cards we hold up when “working” on math facts?  In this podcast, the lunacy of that frustrating exercise is uncovered and an effective approach to learning math facts quickly and painlessly is introduced.  Just how much faster would math assignments go if math facts were instantly recalled?  How much time is wasted correcting problems where there was a math fact error?  How much better would the child’s attitude be if math assignments were more quickly done so there was time to spend on other interest areas?  What about dysgraphia? Yes, with the techniques and resources introduced here, those symptoms are reduced or go away. Find how to make math easier in this 25 minute podcast.

Don’t miss the handout attached here with links to pertinent information and discounts.Math

Photo Credits: DepositPhoto.com All Rights Reserved. Copyright  ilona75

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A prerequisite to reading using the phonics approach is a good auditory processing ability (auditory short term memory).  If processing is not well developed, reading with phonics past three letter words can be next to impossible.  Don’t go buy another phonics program!  It isn’t the phonics program that is the issue, it is the processing that causes the difficulty.  You will learn what to do when phonics is not working and how to prepare the brain to be able to use phonics in the future.

When you work on this auditory processing skill and the others mentioned above, it can be instrumental in reducing the symptoms of dyslexia and other reading challenges.  Specific techniques to make reading easier are taught in this session. You will also understand how to improve reading comprehension.

Be sure to get the handout attached for information and discounts.

 – 17-MakingReadingEasier

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Do you have an Absent-Minded Professor at your house?  The child that is really smart but has a low attention span, trouble sitting still, difficulty following directions, knows something one day and not the next, overreacts to sounds, touch, etc.  Many of these are symptoms of ADD/ADHD and from our point of view are caused by something in the brain that is not quite working the way it should.

The medical model is to give medications and suggest ways to cope and compensate for these sometimes debilitating symptoms.  Behaviorists suggest treating the symptoms with behavioral strategies.  Let me ask you this: If a child is challenged by a tactile system that is giving the wrong messages and causing an overload to his sensory system to the point the child can’t pay attention to anything else, would it help for someone to tell the child to sit still?  The answer is; no!  You would be asking the impossible.  Let’s have a paradigm shift to looking at the root cause of the symptom instead of trying to control or medicate it.

Here on this podcast you will hear of possible causes such as the reaction to stress and metabolic issues with an emphasis on the disorganized brain. The NeuroDevelopmental Approach offers a way to look at the root cause of symptoms.  Stimulating the brain at the root changes the function of the brain.  Yes, you can change the function of the brain, which in turn changes the function of the individual. To help you find those root causes, Little Giant Steps offers several options.  One option is a NeuroDevelopmental Screening available in Texas in the DFW area, Houston and Austin as well as at 2017 Home School Conventions in Sandusky, OH; Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; Benton, AR; Iowa, Oklahoma City, OK; and in Orlando, FL.  littlegiantsteps.com , see “Our Services” in the dropdown menu in the top navigation bar for details.

If you are concerned about the academic progress of your Absent-minded Professor just look at the test results in math, reading recognition and reading comprehension in the handout on this page.  Academics can actually be accelerated instead of the child struggling and becoming behind as is typical with other approaches to treating ADD/ADHD.

Check in next week as we explore how to make reading easier.

Be sure to get the handout attached here!  #Absent Minded Professor – Handout Podcast 16

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Photo Credit: All Rights Reserved DepositPhoto.com 2017, @tomwang

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Podcast #15

Show Notes: ADD/ADHD A Drug-Free Solution

The labels ADD/ADHD are symptomatic labels.  In other words, there is not a blood test or brain scan used to diagnosis an individual with this label.  Typically, there is a list of symptoms or a checklist filled out by the family and the diagnosing professional.  As a NeuroDevelopmentalist, it is deemed important to explore all the possible causes of the symptoms instead of just giving a label.  Here we discuss three main areas that cause symptoms of ADD/ADHD: metabolic (chemistry of the body), neurodevelopmental, and how the individual reacts to stress.  Our experience has proven that by addressing the root causes, the symptoms diminish and often disappear altogether.  This produces a drug-free solution with the help of whitesands ammenities to an ever growing problem of children and adults being labeled with ADD and ADHD. Some grow up and become addicted to drugs which needs immediate care and rehab near riverside can help with this.

Next week, we will cover more root causes in each of these strategic categories.  Be sure to tune in to the next episode to get a better understanding of why the symptoms of ADD/ADHD are so prevalent in our society today.  With a little knowledge and some consistent effort, this epidemic can be turned around.

Be sure to get the handout attached here!  ADD symptom handout

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Photo Credits – All Rights Reserved DepositPhoto.com Copyright RawPixel 2017

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She’s Such a Drama Queen!

This podcast explores the root causes of why children act out  and some solutions children that seem to get out of control.

What Causes a Drama Queen?

This child is typically labeled a Drama Queen or King. The classic response from parents is frustration and aggravation at such emotional responses to seemingly minor circumstances. Most people try to calm the highly charged environment by attempting to reason with the child or redirecting but often get sucked into reacting with an emotional response themselves. At this point it is a viscous cycle of reaction added to reaction which makes it hard for everyone involved. Sound familiar?

Jan Bedell, the Little Giant Steps’ Brain Coach, is here to help you look through “neurodevelopmental eyes” at what might be the root cause of all this hub bub around your house. Joining Jan today is Ruth Young, a 10 year veteran NeuroDevelopmentalist, certified teacher and home school mom of five. Ruth will be sharing her experience with a Drama Queen and the neurodevelopmental solutions she found that changed her daughter’s future.

Also learn:

Next week we will be exploring the topic: The Absent Minded Professor. This is the kiddo that is very smart but you wonder if s/he might be labeled ADD or ADHD if tested. This information is also relevant for children with labels such as dyslexia, autism and struggling learners. Remember, the solution is not in the problems so listen this and every week for solutions that change lives.

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